Bright lights, big city: Times Square, NY Times

It was our final day in New York City. As soon as I woke up, it hit me that we only had a good 12 hours to do the things we want to do before we left on early Friday morning. The plan for Thursday was for my mom and sister to shop, while my dad and I checked out Grand Central Terminal and a few other places.

We took the subway up to Times Square, and we were able to see the bright lights in the city that never sleeps. Although it was daylight, you can see all of Times Square, and surprisingly to me, it was bigger than I thought. The lights, the sounds of Times Square are definitely what you think they are. Lots of moving screens and colorful lights and billboards line the area. We even saw the Times Square Ball, the one that drops on New Years Eve every year.

Times Square at night (Chris Zadorozny / MJ)

After we snapped a few photos, and looked around we took off on our separate ways. But not before I was interviewed by the Reporter, a Russian-based media company with a question about Iran in the 1980s, of which I answered “I wasn’t born, so I honestly have no idea what you are talking about.”

It was interesting to say the least. Off my mom and sister went to shop, while my dad and I took off for the New York Times Building. Yes, the newer one, not the one that Times Square is named after. We eventually found it, not too far from Times Square. I was able to take a few pictures on the outside and on the inside too. So yes, this is the surprise of the trip for you all, The Michigan Journal, has made it to the New York Times. I forgot to bring an actual paper, but I figured a shirt would do just fine.

Grand Central Terminal Main Concourse (Chris Zadorozny / MJ)

After the magnificent moment that was in the NY Times building, our next stop was Grand Central Terminal. If any of you know me, you know that I love architecture and old buildings. I pretty much just love pictures of buildings that I can hang up and show people, and talk to them about the buildings, or at least what I know of them. Grand Central Terminal topped them all. It’s a beautiful building with such great architecture. Once we walked inside, I was astounded at the beauty that was the building. I gazed upon the giant arches, windows, and just all-around size of it. We had to have spent around an hour just enjoying the building itself.

My dad and I traveled downstairs to the food court to find the whispering hall. Basically, you can whisper directly to the wall, and on the exact opposite end, you can hear that same person whisper because of the architectural acoustics. It’s actually pretty cool, and something you don’t see every day.

We had a New Yorker hot dog to eat, which is a hot dog loaded with sauerkraut, caramelized onions, and spicy brown mustard. It’s not a coney dog from Lafayette in Detroit, but it hit the spot. So we walked around a bit, checked out the shops and the Grand Central Market before leaving to meet up with my mom and sister shopping in the Manhattan Mall.

After meeting up, we ended up walking down Broadway. We stopped at the Flatiron Building, so I could snap a few photos, and a couple inside. It’s one of my favorite buildings because of the pure architecture of it. We continued walking down Broadway, walked through Greenwich Village and eventually through NoHo and SoHo.

Our late lunch was at a small dive bar in SoHo, located right on the corner of a busy intersection during rush hour. Most, if not all of the traffic heading toward the river was going toward the Holland Tunnel. I had an original Bleu Cheese burger but not on a regular bun, it was inside pita bread. It wasn’t half bad, in fact, I would probably get it again.

We traveled back to the hotel to rest up and relax after all of the walking we did, before we would head out for one more night on the town. Times Square was the destination, to see the lights, the sounds, the people, the heart of NYC. I must say, seeing Times Square at night and in the day is like eating apples and oranges. Two completely different animals.

During the day you see Times Square and you say, “Okay, that’s cool,” but at night you look upon the lights and just think to yourself, “I can’t believe I’m in Times Square in NYC, right where the ball drops on New Year’s Eve and these lights…WOW.”

We checked out Times Square, walking around a few times, taking more pictures than you can imagine. Feeling a bit hungry and thirsty, we stopped at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Yes, the one that was in the movie Forrest Gump. We sat down, relaxed to watch over Times Square, had some famous shrimp, and enjoyed our last night in NYC.

It was a great end to a great week in the best city in the world. I’ll have my final blog post tomorrow night about the trip home from NYC, which should be pretty short, but it will sum up the best parts of my trip and the worst parts. I’ll give some suggestions on what to do and what not to do as well.